You might have seen making charges, wastage charges or
value addition charges being added to the price of gold jewellery. These
are expenditures that we gold vendors incur in producing jewellery.
Making charges are those charges that are paid to goldsmiths (Karigar)
who craft the jewellery. These charges vary from item to item according
to the work involved.

In the process of making the ornaments, loss of gold
happens due to filing, polishing and buffing the ornament. Wastage
differs from one piece of jewellery to another depending on the kind of
crafting and designing that is involved. The value of gold wasted during
the process of manufacturing is charged as "wastage". The practice of
charging making charge and wastage differs from jeweler to jeweler
depending on the pricing system they follow. jewellery retailers charge a
lump sum amount as value addition charges that includes both making
charges and wastage, while some charge them separately. However, the
total amount charged will be more or less same when converted to
monetary terms.

KDM represents cadmium. KDM seal in an ornament
indicates that the ornament is soldered using a welding rod that is made
of cadmium. Until few years back silver was used for this purpose.
Cadmium became a better alternative considering its cost effectiveness
(only paise 35 approximately per gram) and its evaporation attribute.
Cadmium completely evaporates from the ornaments after the soldering
process. (But if the correct temperature is not reached some particles
of cadmium may remain in the ornament which may be injurious to the
health, as per some studies). KDM seal does not guarantee that the gold
is 22kt. Ornament can be made in any purity like 20kt. KDM, 18 Kt.
KDM, and even 9 Kt KDM.

Tola and sovereign are both measures of weight of gold.
Measuring gold in terms of Tola was a traditional Indian practice
wherein one Tola equals to 11.664 grams of gold. Sovereign measurement
is a British concept where 8 grams of gold make one sovereign. Tola is
of 24K gold and Sovereign is of 22 K gold. Today, both these terms have
been, to a great extent, replaced by Gram. However, Tola is still minted
in Switzerland.

Yes. The English birth or lucky stones chart is based
on sun signs, whereas the Hindu one is based on the lunar signs, rashis
and weak planetary positions in one's horoscope. Here is some info that
about birth stones:

Modern Birthstones

Month

20th & 21st Centuries

January

Garnet

February

Amethyst

March

Aquamarine or bloodstone

April

Diamond

May

Emerald

June

Pearl, moonstone or alexandrite

July

Ruby

August

Peridot or sardonyx

September

Sapphire

October

Opal or tourmaline

November

Topaz or citrine

December

Tanzanite, turquoise, zircon, lapis lazuli or blue topaz

Zodiac Gems

Long before the modern 12-month calendar was invented,
astrologers assigned certain gemstones to the 12 signs of the zodiac
based on the symbolism and metaphysical powers each stone was believed
to possess.

Date

Sign

Zodiac Stone

Dec. 22-Jan. 20

Capricorn

Ruby

Jan. 21-Feb. 21

Aquarius

Garnet

Feb. 22-March 21

Pisces

Amethyst

March 22-April 20

Aries

Bloodstone

April 21-May 21

Taurus

Sapphire

May 22-June 21

Gemini

Agate

June 22-July 22

Cancer

Emerald

July 23-August 22

Leo

Onyx

August 23-Sept. 22

Virgo

Carnelian

Sept. 23-Oct. 23

Libra

Peridot

Oct. 24-Nov. 21

Scorpio

Beryl

Nov. 22-Dec. 21

Sagittarius

Topaz

Indian Planetary Gemology

In ancient India, beliefs regarding the planets and
their relationships with stones also is found.This has developed into
what some today refer to as "planetary gemology." In such systems, there
are nine planets and nine gems, as shown below. Sometimes jewellery is
made using one each of these gems. These are termed navaratna jewels
(nava = nine; ratna = jewel).

Jewelers offer schemes basically to make Jewellery
within everyone's reach causing the least burden to the individual.
Schemes help the customer in planning the purchase of Gold or Diamond to
suit one's purse within a given period of time. There are some schemes
that safeguard the customer against inflation, rate fluctuations, etc.,
and there are others that help the customer grow his/her gold savings.
Customers can benefit in terms of earning interest and enjoy waiver of
making charges, wastage, etc.